COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Penn State defense stifles Northwestern

STATE COLLEGE — For decades he prowled the sidelines looking like a man just released from a nonstop caffeine drip. Former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley called in the defense from the sideline with hand signals, a man in nonstop motion.

He had rebuilt the unit after a onetime legend, Jerry Sandusky, retired.

And under Bradley, Penn State’s defense had success, remaining one of the league’s elite units.

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Discipline always played a role on Bradley’s units. Bend but don’t break. They might allow a quarterback to go down the field, picking apart their secondary, but typically an opponent would need to do it with a series of short passes. The mantra seemed constant: Whatever else happens, don’t give up the big play.

While it might be reasonable to assume the program might lose some of that discipline-first philosophy under a new staff that hasn’t embraced all of the buttoned-down, coat-and-tie decorum of the previous staff, Ted Roof’s unit passed its first big test with flying colors.

Northwestern, the first ranked opponent Bill O’Brien’s staff has faced, came into Beaver Stadium on an all-time high. The Wildcats compiled a school-record 704 yards of offense against Indiana last week.

They had receiver, runner and quarterback Kain Colter.

They had two backs, including junior Venric Mark, capable of rushing for more than 100 yards.

They had a quarterback, Trevor Siemian, who can pass for more than 300 yards.

That’s some scary stuff for a defense.

“For me it’s frustrating,” Penn State defensive end Deion Barnes said. “You know they have the three-step drop, quarterbacks that scramble around, they have zone reads and things. You can’t really freelance and rush.”

And what happens if you freelance and rush?

“You (allow) a 50-yard touchdown, so you really have to play your lane and your assignment against a team like that,” Barnes said.

Other than a blip in the third quarter, Penn State managed to hold Northwestern’s eye-popping potential in check. The Wildcats showed flashes, but only a fraction of the offense they unleashed in Bloomington.

“It was definitely a challenge,” Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges said. “Every year, Northwestern tries to spread the offense and tire us out.”

Northwestern managed 247 total yards of offense against Penn State, including just 135 yards passing.

Fitzgerald noted that youth might have played a role in his team’s sub-par offensive showing. But that wasn’t the whole story.

“This was the best defense we’ve seen by far this year,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.

Northwestern almost put the game out of reach with a 14-point third quarter, using a punt return and an 11-play, 71-yard drive to build an 11-point lead it would carry into the fourth quarter. During the third quarter Penn State had little pass rush, and Northwestern’s receivers got down field and blocked — creating all type of space for the Wildcats on option runs.

But Penn State regrouped.

Penn State didn’t allow a Northwestern first down until the final minute of the game, forcing two consecutive three-and-out series to start the final quarter.

“I think we had guys who were making plays,” Roof said. “We didn’t really do anything a lot different. Initially we had some problems getting off blocks and we talked about going back to fundamentals with pressing people, not staying blocked, and throwing a fit to get off of a block. I felt they did a better job. We got a better rush and it all kind of goes together.”